


Madder Than Hatter's Tea

by dancefantasy



Category: Avengers Grimm (2015)
Genre: F/M, Forbidden Love, Hero/Villain, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Post-Sinister Squad, Sort Of, There's a gun but no violence, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29055108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancefantasy/pseuds/dancefantasy
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin now had all the power he could have possibly wanted. But the one thing he desired most was still out of reach... His old enemy, Alice.
Relationships: Alice/Rumplestiltskin
Kudos: 1





	Madder Than Hatter's Tea

**Author's Note:**

> This is purely based on Sinister Squad and not the other films in the series. And I haven't watched it in months and months, so my bad if I get anything wrong.

_"I already got everything I needed from you."_

Man, what a lie Rumpelstiltskin had told Alice before heading to the underworld to rule as the new Death.

Sure, he had gotten most of what he wanted -- more power and the safety that came with it. By destroying the original Death, he had ensured protection for not only himself but also Alice and her sinister squad, as he liked to call them. And now reunited with his deceased love, Gelda, Queen of Hearts, he ruled the underworld and maintained relative peace. Rumpelstiltskin could easily live a happy ever after with all of that.

Except it wasn't the life he really wanted. He hadn't wanted to be reunited with Gelda. It was true; he had loved her once. But ultimately, she was too demanding, too controlling. Even if he had felt terrible when he had killed her, he hadn't hoped to be reunited in death. Because there was someone else that Rumpelstiltskin had begun to love more.

And it was Alice, of course. Because these things were never easy. She had been his nemesis once, the one who always stopped him from gaining more power. They had only begun to get along when they had gained a mutual enemy, and even then she hadn't found it easy to trust him. Now that they were in separate places, separate _worlds_ to be exact, Rumpelstiltskin wondered if she would return to viewing him as an adversary if they ever met again. It was a terrifying thought, but he was willing to take that risk to see her one more time. Just one more day without seeing her face was one too many.

He knew he shouldn't try it. Death's Messengers had caused a huge mess not too long ago, and the world didn't need more chaos by bringing the dead to the living. Rumpelstiltskin was supposed to remain in the underworld and not cause anymore trouble for anyone. But by having killed Carabosse, he had gained some of her necromantic powers; surely it would be a waste not to try resurrecting himself into a human body at least once, right?

And so, in the next rare opportunity he had alone from Gelda, he worked on replicating the witch's spell that would transport his soul to a corpse back above ground. Just to see Alice one more time, if only for a few short minutes. He needed nothing more.

Because the villain had truly fallen for the hero, harder than he could have ever imagined. Alice's commanding presence had a powerful draw. So organized, prim and proper, but with a hint of crazy. Rumpelstiltskin liked crazy. The way her sense of law-abiding leadership could quickly turn into the frenzied planning highlighted by nail-biting and manic flashes in her blue eyes.

There was also the caring way she treated Tweedledum and Tweedledee like her own children. It was admirable. In a way, she had extended some of that own grace to Rumpelstiltskin when she spared his life in that final battle before he convinced her to follow his scheme. He replayed it in his mind all the time. He could have sworn there was sadness on Alice's face at the thought of hurting him. But maybe it was all his hopeful imagination... Rumpelstiltskin had always been a bit of a dreamer at heart.

And that's what left him breaking into Alice and the others' headquarters, trying to find her. And he easily made his way to her dimly lit office, remembering those halls almost fondly despite the many life-or-death moments he had experienced there. It felt good to be back. Almost dangerously good. He had to remind himself to behave.

Alice was sitting at her desk, focusing on her many screens and disorganized papers while Hatter's voice could be heard quietly rambling over a speaker. Rumpelstiltskin stood in the doorway for a few moments and smiled at the sight. Her presence was oddly comforting to him, even before they had spoken a word to one another. 

As he finally stepped into the room, Alice was alerted by the sound of his boot against the hard floor. Alarmed by an unknown intruder, she quickly pulled a handgun from nearby as she stood, pointing it towards him.

"Not another step!" she demanded. "How did you get in here?!"

"Relax, it's me!" Rumpelstiltskin assured her, holding up his hands to prove he was unarmed. "Alice, it's me," he repeated slowly, watching her expression change as she slowly began to recognize his features.

"Rumpelstiltskin?!" she gasped in shock. "What-- Why-- You can't be here!"

"I had to!" he protested. "Can we just talk for a minute? Without weapons?"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You know I wouldn't hurt you. The first thing I did with my new powers was bring your whole squad back to life. Isn't that proof enough of some goodwill?" he asked, trying to offer his kindest smile despite the menacing nature of his rather brown teeth.

What he said was true. Although he had been troublesome, Rumpelstiltskin had eventually proven he was at least _somewhat_ trustworthy. Alice reluctantly lowered the gun, but asked, "Don't you remember what you said? I keep an eye on everything up here, and you keep an eye on everything down there. No more mingling; it causes problems. I already have enough to deal with at the moment."

"Is everything alright?" Rumpelstiltskin asked in concern. He had thought it odd that it had been so easy for him to get into the building, with nobody posted as a guard anywhere.

She sighed. "Bluebeard's gone out of control. He hurt Piper badly. Meanwhile, Goldie has been trying to help Wolf with his own violent tendencies, but it hasn't been easy. My boys have been terrified to go out in the halls in case they see him. Unfortunately, Wolf only gets worse when he's kept locked up. There's no way to please everyone. I wish I could bring them back to their own world, but I can't do that either... But what can I do with them here?" Alice looked intensely at the clock as she thought through everything, nervously tapping her fingers against the desk.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know what to say. They each sat in uncomfortable silence, except for the persistent sound of Hatter continuing to talk without knowing Alice was no longer listening. She was far too caught up in things to listen to his psychedelic raving even before Rumpelstiltskin had interrupted, he could tell. That somber attitude of hers made Rumpelstiltskin feel sad.

He cleared his throat, hoping to take her mind off things. "Listen. I'm not here to cause you anymore grief."

Alice finally looked at him again, eyebrows twisted upwards. "Then why did you come?"

Rumpelstiltskin hesitated. How would she react to the truth? That he had fallen in love with her in only that short time together? That every day since had felt like torture without her? That whenever he felt Gelda's icy touch, he wished it was hers instead?

"Well? Spit it out," Alice prompted. "I don't think you merely happened to fall down a rabbit hole. And don't tell me you just needed the company."

"...So, you wouldn't like it if I said I missed you?"

Alice seemed quite surprised by that, eyeing Rumpelstiltskin closely to see if he was trying to trick her. "And why would you miss me? I threatened to cut off your head, once upon a time."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine! I think I loved you too much to let go. I can't get enough of you, Alice."

Alice's eyes narrowed, though she didn't seem _completely_ off-put by the situation. Rather, she looked almost hurt by it. "But you told me you loved the Queen of Hearts. Oh, I should have expected such two-faced behavior from someone like you."

Rumpelstiltskin cringed helplessly. "I did love her. I still do, in some ways. You know, people tend to get attached to things, even if they know they're no good for 'em. But..." He stepped over to the other side of the desk to be closer, all while Alice kept her guard up. "You'd be good to me, wouldn't you, Alice?"

"This is all madder than Hatter's tea," Alice muttered with an incredulous laugh. "We're supposed to be enemies, Rumpelstiltskin," she responded carefully. "That truce you called only forgave what you did in breaking the magic mirror."

"Okay, there's a 'but' after that, right?" he asked hopefully. 

Alice glanced away from those wide, surprisingly innocent eyes of his. She seemed to be remembering something. "The Cheshire kind," she affirmed, "where it's lurking somewhere it shouldn't. ...I'll admit, I find you _intriguing_ even if I'm not supposed to like you in the slightest," she reluctantly finished.

The man almost bounced with excitement at the potential in those words of hers. "So, you'd be open to more than a truce? Because I want more time with you. And I don't want that to mean I've gotta get on your bad side again, even if I trust you wouldn't really pull a trigger on me."

It was true. The only time Alice had thought of hurting Rumpelstiltskin was when she believed he had helped kill one of the twins. Even when he seemed to be helping Death win, she refused to make him bleed. Both of them had a softness for one another despite their different sides of morality, it seemed. Alice couldn't pretend that some of the things he had done had made her feel all different kinds of wondrous, as odd as it was.

"Perhaps you're using your power of persuasion, but... You know I'm not opposed to believing in such impossible things," she quietly told him.

Rumpelstiltskin smirked. "As many as six before breakfast, even?"

Alice couldn't help but smile too at that familiar phrase. "Well, you have a sharp memory, even if the rest of your mind may be rather delusioned."

"Hey, doll. You said it yourself that you're the same, just moments ago." He held out his hand towards her. "More than a truce? Some sort of partnership, even?"

"More like a willingness to see if you're worth such a chance," Alice counter-offered, not quite as willing as he was to dive into collaboration with an ex-enemy.

Rumpelstiltskin could accept that. "Deal."

Alice took his hand and shook it firmly. And she didn't let go right away as she met his eyes with her own. "Don't make me regret this. I really don't want to."

"I don't have a single reason to mess it up," Rumpelstiltskin assured her. He couldn't mess up having more of this heavenly sensation of being so close to one another and on good terms for once. That alone was making all of the aching and pining he had felt since their last meeting worth it. 

And as they stared at one another, he wondered if she had ever felt the same way. She had a curious way of looking at him with those crystalline eyes. They seemed to tell a story he couldn't understand, as they never reached those pink lips. Lips that Rumpelstiltskin's own were begging to kiss. Though Alice hadn't shared her feelings about his confession of love quite yet, he was tempted to dare lean closer and try.

But before either of the pair could make their next move, Hatter's voice suddenly came in louder through the speaker. "Alice! Are you there? We really need you here. It's an emergency. And no, it's not because my kettle boiled over this time." He sounded just about as panicked as his often dazed self could muster.

Rumplestiltskin knew that now wasn't a good time to be selfish again. "I'll leave you to the messy stuff and head back 'downstairs,'" he told Alice, not wanting to keep her from anything important. Stepping back, he lifted his hand to begin the spell of leaving this temporary body and returning to the underworld. But Alice called out for him to stop.

"Wait, Stiltskin!" As he paused, she anxiously pulled at her fingers as he paused and looked at him with a sense of longing. "Come back again, will you? I could use the company."

He grinned. Those words were oh-so sweet to hear. "Nothing would make me happier," he promised before his soul quickly left the shell of a body behind and began traveling back to where it belonged.

Which also meant traveling back to where Gelda was waiting to abuse their relationship more. And if she found out he had visited Alice for no good reason, it would only get worse...

Well, Rumpelstiltskin was already used to those two things: getting himself into trouble and suffering at the queen's hands. Eventually he'd have the nerve to end all of that. He would need the extra space in his life now that he was had the sense he was beginning to get what he had wanted most. And that was Alice, of course.

Because those things she said had made Rumpelstiltskin feel like he wasn't the only one harboring secret feelings. Alice was just less willing to be open about them, surely. And he understood that. She had a reputation to maintain, people to protect. As long as he could keep seeing her in the meantime, Rumpelstiltskin could wait an eternity for her to let those walls down. He was immortal now, after all. And she was the madwoman he wanted to spend all of that time with.


End file.
